Cruise Planners - American Express Travel, the nation’s largest home-based travel agent franchise network in the travel industry, has launched mobile versions of more than 900 websites in its network. Accessible from any web-enabled phone or smartphone, the sites connect travel customers with their Cruise Planners travel agent from any location.

Travel companies are increasingly using mobile channels to satisfy customers’ needs before, during and after their trips, according to the recent World Travel Market Global Trends Report. Cruise Planners’ new mobile-friendly website platform does just that and creates an enhanced customer experience.

Cruise Planners’ in-house technology team developed the coding using responsive technology to make the user experience intuitive, which is in line with the brand’s overall move to a more mobile- and user-oriented interface. The new site provides a lean version of the homepage, a cruise search function, port destination information, land vacation details, the latest travel deals, highlights of Completely Packaged “CP” Vacations and the brand’s signature American Express benefits. Also, consumers can use their mobile device to engage with their Cruise Planner travel advisor immediately via phone, email or social media. Travelers can easily sign up to get exclusive deals and the monthly e-newsletter while on the go, through the new mobile site.

Cruise Planners also has an app called “Cruise Planners Mobile” which is a customizable, consumer-facing app that franchisees can use to promote their business and help clients manage travel details. Now that the brand also has mobile-friendly websites, the user experience is seamless from desktop to tablet to smartphone. Cruise Planners designs and manages all websites for each of its more than 900 franchise owners, as well as the back-end proprietary travel agent programs and the app.

Currently, Cruise Planners’ main website gets 73 percent of its traffic from traditional desktop users and the remaining 27 percent from mobile devices. That trend is on the rise and will continue to increase as consumer habits evolve. The technology was designed to automatically detect what type of device each consumer is using, therefore presenting the content in the proper presentation no matter the device.